Bad End
by Sinful Existence
Summary: Raven was gone. Schwann was in his place and once he decided an opponent was dead, nothing could get in his path. Not so-called friends. Not even the second girl he'd ever loved. Alternate end, set on the premise that Schwann defeated Yuri and friends in Baction. Unhappy ending ensues. Violence and character deaths. Not for the faint of heart.


So I got the idea in my head for this randomly and needed to write it out. That being said, this has **major character deaths** , (what I consider) **explicit violence** , and overall is a very **unhappy ending** full of angsty feels. If you're looking for something with a happy, romantic ending... this ain't it. Hope the masochists out there like it anyway!

This is a one-shot, so what you see is all there is.

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Over the years, over the course of dozens of battles, Schwann had learned that the more fear that festered within a soldier, the further it choked them. Fear could become so overwhelming, whether your fear or the fear of an ally, that it could paralyze you on the spot, stop your limbs, and make easy prey of you.

On the flip side, fear was something that could hinder an opponent as well. Lesser men were wont to drink in the fear of their opponents, spurring them on into a sadistic spree. However, such men could become careless, so drunk on the fear of their opponents that they became oblivious to the blade at their back until it was through them.

Schwann preferred to close himself off from a battle. The less your emotions were involved, the less the stench of battle could overcome you. Every move he made was cold and calculated, devoid of feeling or morals. His purpose was to carry out his orders. It was not his place to feel one way or another about his actions.

Still, the aura of fear that battles usually wrought had never quite been as thick and suffocating as it was right then. Maybe it was the betrayal. Maybe it was the fact that Estellise was taken by Alexei and that every moment they spent fighting Schwann, she was taken further and further from their reach. Maybe it was the fact that, despite the inhuman and insanely strong monsters they'd fought so far, they had never felt the threat of death so deeply as right then.

It only took a few strikes, a few blades met, for them to realize that not only was he serious, but that he was powerful. Extremely powerful. If anyone knew about his situation, of Alexei's absolutely control over him, they might be inclined to believe that he was made a captain so that Alexei could keep an eye on him. However, the simple truth was that he was that strong. It was like comparing the strength of a child to that of an adult. It was that analogy that briefly ran through his mind as he struck Karol down, the team's screams nothing but white noise in his ears as he ran the boy through right into his chest.

Boy... Yes, he was definitely a boy. The analogy ran true in this case. His opponent was nothing but a child.

 _I really liked you, Raven... I couldn't tell you before, but, if my dad were-_

He lifted his sword, and Karol by extension, before flinging it to the side, the small body slipping down the blade and landing several feet away against a wall. It would be difficult to tell there was blood on the already crimson blade if not for the fact that it was dripping against the stone floor.

Anger filled the chamber like an angry swarm, but the fear also increased, surrounding them as if it were a liquid. It was nearly tangible. There was absolute proof of their assumptions. Of his will to kill. Of his power. That proof lay dead mere feet from him, his eyes unblinking and caught in the same shocked stare he'd worn when stabbed. It might have been disturbing, if anyone had the time to give him more than a cursory glance.

More than a cursory glance is what Judith made the mistake of giving him and Schwann was upon her, his sharp eyes catching the weakness immediately. Yuri was quick to act, his sword flying out to catch Schwann's. Rather than removing her head, as intended, his blade caught the inside of her elbow. The three bodies sprung away from each other, but Judith's spear clattered to the floor loudly, echoing throughout the room. Her weapon arm was now useless and Yuri took a stance in front of her as if to protect her. Ridiculous. He would only die in the attempt. Not that abandoning her would help, either. They would all die here today. Still, the thought that he could protect them both was absurd.

His eyes shifted at the feeling of Aer moving and he made a leap to the side just as a blaze of fire took up the space he'd previously occupied.

Right. There were three. It was hard to remember sometimes. The girl was shaking so hard it was a wonder she could cast at all. Yet another child on the battlefield where they didn't belong. Another unfortunately victim of circumstance. Despite the threat of her magic, she was far too inactive for him to mark her as a priority at the moment. Even his act of dodging her flames seemed like such a surprise to her that she had no move to follow, her eyes wide and full of fear.

He didn't bother to give her more than a glance to make sure he wasn't getting casted at again before he was darting toward Yuri and Judith again, body slightly low to the ground and surprisingly quick. His sword was stopped by Yuri, but Schwann could feel the vibrations through their blades that told him of Yuri's sword arm shaking from the strain of stopping his attack. He gave a short back hop for distance before he was upon the younger swordsman again, his age and experience winning out and slowly forcing Yuri to move back. Rita was preparing another spell, but the two men were so tangled in their fight that she didn't dare throw out a spell in case it hit Yuri as well.

Schwann felt Judith moving off to his side, moving for her spear while she assumed he was preoccupied with Yuri. He might have been insulted by her thinking so lowly of his intelligence if he gave a damn at all. Yuri's eyes betrayed her and for a moment flickered to her, unsure of what she thought she could do with her weapon arm injured. She took the spear with her opposite hand, moving to attempt an attack on Schwann's flank.

He used the distraction to bring his foot down into Yuri's knee. As the entire fight had been carried out with swords, he didn't expect this turn of events, and gave a shout of pain as a sickening crack rang out and his knee bent in slightly the wrong way. The knee was pushed further in the wrong direction as Schwann used that foot to push himself off of Yuri and pivot to face Judith. With her not using her dominant hand to control her spear, it was almost too easily to parry her strike and reposte, his sword finding purchase in her throat.

 _I'm so sorry that we have no choice by to fight you now._

The same lips that uttered those words now moved silently, trying to form words that her throat was no longer able to give voice to. The other remaining voices had no trouble working, Yuri giving a scream and Rita gasping in horror as Schwann's blade twisted to lay flat horizontally, only to pull from her neck to the side...

Two distinct thumps resounded after, blood painting his body much more than his blow to Karol had done. Yuri gave a tormented cry and attempted to rise from the ground to swing at Schwann, but his leg gave under him and his body crumpled to the floor.

As he advanced on Yuri, Rita fell into desperation. His sword was up before his gaze, blocking the fireball with the flat of his sword. The middle of it took on a vibrant glow for a moment, not unlike a sword under the intense heat of a forge, then faded to its normal color. It wasn't the only fireball to come to him though, the girl's eyes wide with fear and rage as fireball after fireball was flung at him. She knew very well that the moment her volley ended, so would Yuri's life.

Schwann continued to block and dodge her attacks, his gaze trained on her as he waited for her Aer reserves to be exhausted. Her fear and anger only escalated at the sight, realizing that not only was he able to avoid her attacks, but he did so as easily as he breathed air. She'd only put a few feet of distance between Schwann and Yuri, but she was starting to get the suspicion that it was a purposeful maneuver, one meant to put distance between himself and Yuri so he could block her attacks without the threat of Yuri's counter attack.

A whimper rose from her throat as she called upon more Aer, only to have the request denied, her body spent. The noise had barely left her throat before Schwann was upon Yuri again. The younger swordsman met Schwann's strike with his sword, but it was foolish in the captain's eyes. He could see in Yuri's expression that even _he_ knew he was done for. The fight left in him was his stubborn human instincts wanting to fight to his last breath. Admirable, but ultimately a wasted effort. Even with sword in hand, he was severely handicapped by being unable to move from his spot on the floor. He might as well have exposed his throat to Schwann.

His strikes were met again and again, though he could feel Yuri's blocks weakening with each time their swords met. He barely had time to realize Rita had taken a gel, only noticing the change when he felt the room's temperature increase with another fireball. She was far more desperate than he gave her credit for, if she was willing to throw them with him so close to Yuri now. He in fact used their locked blades to block the blow, jerking his sword up with Yuri's. Yuri's blade took the brunt of the flame, glowing like an ember from the heat. Schwann could see the instant of defeat in the young man's eyes as he realized what would happen before it occurred. Schwann's blade cut through the weakened metal as easily as if it were butter, the top half of Yuri's sword flying away and sticking to the wall close by Rita's head.

With no blade to block his strikes, he saw Yuri's eyes fade with the acceptance of his death, even if his entire being radiated resentment. It was as he told Rita, though.

 _Many people hate me..._

His blade cut upward in a diagonal path across Yuri's torso, ripping the front of him wide open from his hip up to his left shoulder. Schwann didn't give him a second glance as his body hit the floor with a wet thump, his limbs twitching slightly before his entire body stilled.

 _Sorry, not gonna go easy just cause you're old._

 _Sorry_ , he murmured in the back of his mind, _not gonna go easy just cause you're a kid._

 _You should be like that all the time!_

It was said in jest, but he wondered idly if Yuri's last thoughts might have included regret at that particular phrase. He was sure that no one was happy to see his true face. No matter...

Now all that was left was the mage.

Said girl was currently on sitting against the far wall, having scrambled backward as far as the room would allow. Her eyes were still transfixed on Yuri in horror, guilt seeming to exude itself from her every pore. It had not been her fault entirely. She gave him an opening, sure, but he would have killed Yuri with or without that fireball.

It wasn't his business to tell her or try to ease her guilt. The fact that the idea had even crossed his mind for a moment was strange and unneeded.

He advanced on her, his blade still dripping with the blood of her friends that he'd slaughtered so far.

 _I-I-I hate you!_

Her face had been so full of bravado then, like she thought that a good enough nagging might make him 'come to his senses'. The feeling he got from her couldn't be further from that Rita now. Her friends were lost, her power exhausted, and she was faced with a foe she had no hope of defeating. Her bravado was shattered and now all that stood in its wake was a shaking, scared little girl. Some strange part of him that he associated with his Raven persona felt displeasure at seeing the proud girl reduced to this. His fault. All his. He couldn't blame her.

 _I can't let this go! I won't let you do this!_

Truly, it was astonishing to him that this girl who was so brutal to his alter ego, who seemed to be mad at him more times than not, seemed to be the most shaken up by his betrayal. He knew she wasn't very honest about her feelings, but he wondered idly to what extent that was the case.

He knelt before her shaking form, his piercing gaze locking on her as if he could see through her to her thoughts and intentions. Her eyes locked with his unwillingly, vivid emerald locking with dull teal as they tried to figure each other out, even as his blade rose into the space above them.

 _What was she feeling?_ **Why was he doing this?** _Why was the first woman to crawl into his dead heart since Casey this small girl before him?_ **Why did he have to turn out to be the enemy?**

 _ **Why did he have to kill them?**_

She gave a strangled cry as his sword pierced her chest, right into her heart. Their eyes stayed locked, even as the light left her eyes slowly. He watched as tears welled up in her eyes, spilling over and carving a path through the blood and grime that stained her cheeks. Her lips moved to form words he couldn't make out, the only clear word to come from them piercing some deep part of him.

"R... Ra... ven..."

Not Old Man. Raven. He wasn't sure why he felt the lump in his throat, but he was unable to push it down now. Her eyes drifted shut as the life left her body. He pulled the sword mechanically from her body, the motion causing her body to collapse against him.

I couldn't bring himself to move further, even as he felt the earth quake under him. A deafening crash sounded from close to the entrance. Then another closer by. He should have figured Alexei would do something like this. He was almost certain Alexei had meant for him to die today.

His eyes moved from the small girl in his arms. They moved to the young swordsman, sprawled on his front against the cold stone, his almost feminine hair splayed around his head like some sort of morbid halo. Then to the beheaded Krityan laying near his side, her body moreso than her head. No, her head had rolled closer toward Karol, who still laid on his side with his back to the wall there, his eyes staring forward as if right at him. Schwann tore his eyes from that gaze, instead glancing to the dog who was half-buried in rubble by Karol's feet and was killed almost as soon as the battle had begun, then back down at the mage in his arms.

The little spitfire of a girl was now nothing but a limp rag doll in his arms. It took him seeing water droplets on her shoulder to realize he was crying.

This was the end. The end of them. The end of him. Of this place. Of this world. Of his servitude.

So then was it okay for him to feel? At the end of the road, in his final moments, was he allowed to be human again and just feel something? Could a man without a real heart feel anything anymore?

If the tears running down his face were any indication, the answer was yes, he could feel.

The sound of the building collapsing around him should have invoked fear. Maybe, if he'd tried when he heard the sounds of the stone falling, he could have made it out alive. Maybe.

Still, what was the point now? He'd prioritized his hypothetical survival over the lives of people he'd fought alongside. People who had trusted him, despite the fact that he ought not be trusted. He obeyed Alexei because the man owned him. Because he could take the life he gave him easily. But, was it worth following those orders just to save his own miserable life? What put his life above theirs? And why couldn't he have had this fucking epiphany _before_ he'd taken the lives of the only people who really mattered to him? Of the only people who gave a damn about him? He'd let his past rule him so completely that he had ruined any possible future he had.

He could almost see it. Siding with them, getting Estelle back. They'd probably hate him for being a spy against them for so long, but he'd prove his loyalty to them. They would face whatever trials Alexei would unleash on this world and come out the victors.

Maybe he could live out the rest of his days just being Raven. Not having to follow anyone's orders or take any more lives against his will. Maybe he could spend his days with a certain mage, who was all attitude and smarts, who would keep him in line and keep his life fun and interesting.

His arms tightened around Rita's body, holding her firmly to his chest. She was already turning cold in his grasp, no signs of life in her. He'd ripped it right from her, knowing it was wrong. This was why he didn't let himself feel anymore. This pain was too much. He wondered if he could try to push those feelings back down, but quickly realized he couldn't. Or maybe he didn't want to. Perhaps he just wanted to wallow in his guilt now. It was the least he could do for them. This and his death. It was his punishment for the sins he committed in life up until now.

He didn't so much as flinch when a large piece of the ceiling crashed down mere feet from him, the rumbling in the building so loud now that his ears felt numb, like no other sound could reach him.

He kept the small mage in his arms, unable to hear his own whispers as he spoke them into her hair. Whispers of apology. For forgiveness. Forgiveness he didn't deserve.

Words of love. Of a confession that came too late to deaf ears.

He buried his face against her neck and held her body close as the ceiling above him shook loose with the sharp sound of stone against stone.

"When I come to meet you... make sure you beat the hell out of me for what I've done, Rita darling..."

He placed a soft kiss against her neck and closed his eyes, his body not even tensing as he accepted the inevitable, the ceiling coming down and smiting him as sure as a God itself.

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Game Over: Bad End


End file.
